Weekend Fun!

So, I just finished up another AWESOME weekend and couldn't wait to tell you all about it! It was filled with sunshine, softball, laughter, sleep, friends, rain, cold, darts, and karaoke. God continues to bless my time here in Japan with some amazing opportunities and friendships.

I was able to spend the entire day with my junior high softball girls in Misawa. Thankfully they had enough room on the bus for me to ride with them the 1 1/2 hours. It was truly the perfect day....sunshine and softball! It truly doesn't get much better than that. I enjoyed watching their 2 games (they lost 1 and won 1), visiting with parents, and soaking up the sun. I loved every minute of it!...it was even worth getting up at 4:30am to catch the bus!
Here the girls are watching their opponents take infield before the game. A huge highlight for me was showing the girls pictures of my family and friends while in the bus. It was fun to share with them a little more about myself and the special people in it. These girls also take care of me (in more ways than I can describe). For example, we stopped at a convenient store on the drive back for some ice cream. I kind of understood what was going on. Some of the girls asked me what kind of ice cream I wanted but before I could respond they picked it out for me. They even showed me how to eat the ice cream (and yes it needed explaining:-) It was a wonderful day with these girls. Oh, one of the girls also yelled out "I like you" to me and others agreed.
Today was my 3rd Hanami (flower-viewing) BBQ. The weather was very cold (much different from yesterday) but we still enjoyed the food and awesome people. Here is a picture of the ladies.
We gathered at a park here in Mutsu but the cherry blossoms are starting to fade away though. Sad:-( We also had s'mores...thanks to my friend Yoshika who brought the marshmellows and cookies with a layer of chocolate on them. Yum!

This picture is so funny to me because it really captures my karaoke experience today. I learned how to play darts but soon switched over to singing. I sang several English songs, including Beauty and the Beast and A Whole New World. It was so much fun, especially when my friend Ayako joined in to do the other part. Good times!